UGEB1307 Energy And Green Society

Assignment 2
Names: Ho Ka Wai (1155047703) and Lo Chak Hei (1155048633)

1. Introduction
Singapore is a microstate. With a land area of 718.3km2 1,about 70%
of that of Hong Kong, Singapore lacks land resources heavily. Hence,
Singapore depends on import heavily for raw materials. And for this
assignment, we are going to focus on the energy profile of
Singapore, its environmental concerns and conservation targets.

2. Energy Profile
As a city-state, there is no natural ore for any fossil fuel. The
countrys energy mostly come from imported petroleum or liquefied
natural gas (LNG), with petroleum accounting for 90% of the energy
consumption.

There is no significant usage of nuclear or renewable

energy.

1 Department of Statistics, Singapore

http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data#14
2 The Encyclopedia of Earth
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152526/

Singapore consumes a total of 45TWh of energy per year3, which

equals 75.435MWh per capita4. However, the world average for
energy consumption per capita is 21.283MWh5. Singapores per
capita usage is three times of the worlds average. This also makes
Singapore the 14th most-consuming country per-capita-wise.

3 P. 31 , Singapore Energy Statistics 2014,

https://www.ema.gov.sg/cmsmedia/Publications_and_Statistics/Publi
cations/SES%202014%20Chapters/Chapter%203%20Energy
%20Consumption.pdf
4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_energy_consumptio
n_per_capita
5 Table 55 http://webbshop.cm.se/System/TemplateView.aspx?
p=Energimyndigheten&view=default&cat=/Broschyrer&id=e0a2619
a83294099a16519a0b5edd26f

Singapores petroleum import is crucial important to its economy.

The oil refining industry accounts for 5% of the countrys GDP.6 The
three oil refineries not only supply petroleum for the country, but
also export to nearby regions, such as Hong Kong, where limited
land supply also limited their energy production.

Singapore is very dependent on petroleum. There are a few possible

reasons. Singapore is a very busy, where people has heavy reliance
on cars. When petroleum is produced near the demand, the cost
could be reduced. On the other hand, the small size of the country
limits the possibility of renewable energy. There is no significant
river in the region, and wind energy requires a large wind firm.
6
https://www.edb.gov.sg/content/edb/en/industries/industries/energy.
html

Besides, burning of coal, the cheaper choice for fossil fuels, is

deemed dirtier than oil. Since the factory is very close to where
people live, burning of coal is not optimal.

Nuclear energy is currently not an option for Singapore, said by the

Second Minister for Trade and Industry of the country.7 It was seen
too dangerous for the highly populated city. However, it is not
known whether or not the country supports development of nuclear
energy in other regions.

Singapore is located in the tropical area, where solar energy is

suitable. The country has invested more than 800 million
Singaporean dollars (About 4500 million Hong Kong dollars) on
research and development of renewable energy. With solar energy
as the main focus for the country, other sources of renewable
energy were not considered due to the limited size of the country.8

The demand of energy is continuously increasing. Hence the usage

of energy, both conventional and renewable energy, is going to
increase.9
7 Current nuclear energy technology "not suitable for use in S'pore", Retrieved on
2015/03/30 13:42http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/currentnuclear-energy-te/499024.html

8
https://www.edb.gov.sg/content/edb/en/industries/industries/alternat
ive-energy.html
9 Shells survey on Singaporeans energy usage http://s05.staticshell.com/content/dam/shellnew/local/country/sgp/downloads/pdf/shell-singapore-future-of-

3. Environmental Concerns
As mentioned above, Singapore is a city-state which means land is a
scarcity in Singapore. At the same time, Singapore is one of the
worlds top three export refining centers. Therefore, there was a
high demand in land for building oil refining factories in Singapore.
Singapore government used land reclamation as method to provide
land which damage coral reef and ecosystem around Singapore.
According to the World Resources Center, about 60% of coral reef
were dead due to land reclamation on Jurong Island while the rest
coral reef lives under high polluted and low oxygen environment11.

On the other hand, oil refining is also a highly polluted industry that
emits air pollutants containing CO2, lead and other chemicals. In
1992, Singapore is one of the 50 countries that had the highest
carbon dioxide emission amount12. Also, waste pollution due to oil
refining is an important issue in Singapore. About 0.9 million tons of
solid waste is produced each year in Singapore13.

Climate change also poses threat to Singapore in various aspect.

There are three two kinds of problem, first one is damage of
biodiversity and the second one is socio-economical issues. The
major environmental issue due to climate is that sea level around
energy-survey-2013.pdf
11 http://e-info.org.tw/node/59204
12 http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Singapore.aspx
13 http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Singapore.aspx

Singapore will increase. Most of land in Singapore lies only 15 meter

above sea level while about 30% land lies 5 meter lower than mean
sea level14. As a result, increase in sea level due to climate change
will cover lots of mangrove forest in Singapore which provides
habitat for many species15.

In terms of socio- economical issues, increase in world temperature

increases the threat of diseases in Singapore. Vector-borne diseases
are endemic in Singapore and it is more serious in warmer period in
a year16. So higher temperature is obviously increases the threat of
vector-borne diseases to local citizens.

4. Energy Conservation Commitments

Singapore has ratified the Kyoto Protocol at 12 April 2006. Singapore
belongs to Non-Annex I countries which means there is no official
caps for limiting emission in greenhouse gases (GHG) when
comparing to the base year17. However, Singapore did set up targets
for reducing emission by 7% to 11% below 2020 business-as-usual
(BAU) level. Singapore government tries to reduce emission through
five aspects including industry, buildings, transport, households and
waste and water. We will use industry and buildings as examples for
14 https://www.nccs.gov.sg/climate-change-and-singapore/nationalcircumstances/impact-climate-change-singapore
15 http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/news/0908/PDF/ENERGY-lhzb-5Augp10.pdf
16 https://www.nccs.gov.sg/climate-change-and-singapore/nationalcircumstances/impact-climate-change-singapore
17 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

illustrating policy made by government.

In industry, government launched Energy Services Companies

Accreditation Scheme and Singapore Certificated Energy Manager
Program. The first scheme aims to encourage the growth of energy
services companies and enhance their professionalism the ability 18.
The second one aims to provide technical skills to engineering
professionals lead energy services and management work in their
company19.

From the perspective of buildings, government requires new building

projects have to obey Building Control Regulation to achieve
minimum Green Mark Standards20. Also, existing buildings that are
undergoing retrofitting works have to obey this regulations.

Furthermore, Singapore is trying to increase the usage of solar

energy. The Housing and Development Board investigate in ways to
increase usage of solar energy under current conditions. It launched
a test that installed solar test beds in 30 precinct for five years. On
the other hand, Housing and Development Board is studying new
business model for solar leasing model. In this scheme, town council
will lease solar photovoltaic system from private company which will
build, operate and own the system. Then then council will pay the
18 https://www.nccs.gov.sg/nccs-2012/sectoral-measures-to-reduceemissions-up-to-2020.html#prettyPhoto
19 Same as foot note 18
20 Same as foot note 18

company for to solar power consumed by residents at a price equal

or less than retail electricity tariff price21.

Singapore do pay a lot in reducing carbon emission and lowering the

reliance on fossil fuels but the result is not satisfactory yet, they
have to take more action for a better planet.

21 Same as foot note 18

Reference
1.Department of Statistics, Singapore http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latestdata#14
2.

The Encyclopedia of Earth http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152526/

P. 31 , Singapore Energy Statistics 2014,

3.

P. 31 , Singapore Energy Statistics 2014,

https://www.ema.gov.sg/cmsmedia/Publications_and_Statistics/Publications/S
ES%202014%20Chapters/Chapter%203%20Energy%20Consumption.pdf

4.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_energy_consumption_per_capita
5.

Table 55 http://webbshop.cm.se/System/TemplateView.aspx?
p=Energimyndigheten&view=default&cat=/Broschyrer&id=e0a2619a832940
99a16519a0b5edd26f

6.

https://www.edb.gov.sg/content/edb/en/industries/industries/energy.html

7.

Current nuclear energy technology "not suitable for use in S'pore", Retrieved
on 2015/03/30 13:42
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/current-nuclear-energyte/499024.html
8. https://www.edb.gov.sg/content/edb/en/industries/industries/alternativeenergy.html
9.

Shells survey on Singaporeans energy usage http://s05.staticshell.com/content/dam/shell-new/local/country/sgp/downloads/pdf/shellsingapore-future-of-energy-survey-2013.pdf

10. https://www.edb.gov.sg/content/edb/en/industries/industries/energy.html
11. http://e-info.org.tw/node/59204
12. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Singapore.aspx
13. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Singapore.aspx
14.
https://www.nccs.gov.sg/climate-change-and-singapore/nationalcircumstances/impact-climate-change-singapore
15. http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/news/0908/PDF/ENERGY-lhzb-5Aug-p10.pdf
16. https://www.nccs.gov.sg/climate-change-and-singapore/nationalcircumstances/impact-climate
-change-singapore
17. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol
18.
https://www.nccs.gov.sg/nccs-2012/sectoral-measures-to-reduce-emissionsup-to-2020.html#prettyPhoto